What If Dreams Came True?
by Bobby Maler's khakis
Summary: All she's ever wanted to be is a witch. Now that she is, she finds that the responsibility is a lot to bear. But if it means patching things up with Lily and perhaps finding herself along the way, then it's her burden to bear.
1. One: Dreams

**Yes, I know, the ending is probably a trope, but who cares. Please R &R it would make my day. Tell me what you think. Please?**

* * *

Petunia Evans had always been a simple girl. Smart? Yes. Levelheaded? Yes. But extraordinary? No. She wasn't a freak. And, in a way, she hated that. On the other hand, Petunia found great joy in being just like everybody else. Being normal did, after all, make everybody like her better. Or, it used to anyway. And besides, what was not to like about her? The only thing Petunia liked less than "special" people was feeling like she didn't matter, which made her feel like she wasn't loved. Love made her happy, and when she didn't get love, she was sad. Simple as that.

* * *

For most of her life, Petunia had been treated exactly the same, if not slightly better than her younger sister Lily. She'd always understood that even though she was older and would always share a special place in her parents' hearts, she and Lily were equals. They were just as good as each other and their parents loved them equally. She had been content. Everything had changed with the incident, however. Lily had done something amazing that Petunia couldn't. In a rage, Petunia had been a bully towards her best friend. Her only friend. But then, Lily, being the person she was, assured Petunia that she could learn. That she would do everything in her power to make sure Petunia was like her. They'd be friends again. Real sisters again. And they were. But only for awhile. Because no matter how hard she tried, Petunia just wasn't special. It was alright though, as long as she had Lily. Fate, however, was a cruel mistress. Petunia's world was shattered once more when they asked Lily to come be a part of the most special thing in the entire world, and when they told Petunia, that she wasn't, and never would be invited. Something broke inside Petunia when Lily grew better and better as the days went on. She got prettier as Petunia got uglier. She made more friends as Petunia grew more isolated. If Petunia was the oldest, why wasn't this happening to her?

By her 10th letter to Dumbledore, Petunia realized that she would never be like Lily. But it was alright. Even if Lily was too good for her, she still had her parents. Over time though, she came to realize that she would never really have her parents' love or pride. She would always, no matter how hard she tried, be playing second fiddle. This made her sad, which turned to anger, which turned to hate for everybody se]he thought was better than her. She reasoned that the better they were, the more deserving they were of love. Since she wasn't anything special, she didn't deserve love. Not even from herself. She was mad. She was sad. But most of all, she was broken.

And she blamed Lily.

* * *

Petunia sat up in her bed, her customary scowl plastered on her face. She had been dreading this day since September 1st. The second day of her summer holidays. The day Lily returned home from her freak school to rub her powers in Petunia's face. She wished she could forget about it, but how could she when cries of,

"Oh, how lucky we are, having a witch in the family!" rang about the house all day? It wasn't like her parents only mentioned it sometimes either. It was all day every day, and they barely even acknowledged Petunia anymore, except for when she did something to their disliking. Even then, the lectures she got usually started with,

"Lily would have…" No matter how many A grades she got, no matter how many awards she won, she'd always be friendless, magicless Petunia Evans. Boring and plain. She constantly tried to remind herself that normality was desired, but it seldom worked. She tried to remind herself that she didn't even love her parents or Lily, so what did it matter what they thought anyway? But she did care, she loved them with all her heart.

As Petunia headed to the small upstairs bathroom in her house and started to get ready, she studied her reflection in the mirror. Unlike Lily, she hadn't inherited her mum's beautiful flame-colored hair. Unlike Lily, she didn't have her father's straight nose. At one point in time, she'd actually thought that this made her special. But now she saw how ugly and imperfect she really was. When she finished getting ready, she headed downstairs and ate her breakfast which consisted, like usual, of toast and milk. Boring like her. She listened to her parents go on and on about how amazing Lily was and how they just could not wait to see her. She was barely even present when they all hurried out to the car to make the short journey from Cokeworth to Kings Cross. She didn't even say anything when she saw them, Lily's kind, in all their glory, and when she wished very badly that just for one second she could know what it felt like to be them. She kept quiet when she saw her, talking to a boy with black hair, having the time of her life. She didn't say anything as they rode back home and Lily told her parents about how amazing her school was. She didn't say anything when they arrived at home and she, like usual, was asked if she could please fix dinner while her parents caught up with Lily. She definitely didn't make a peep when she went to bed at night wishing that she could be like Lily for just one second so that she could feel happy. She didn't speak, no, she only cried.

 **...**

When she awoke the next morning, Petunia wasn't optimistic about the day ahead. First, there would be a huge breakfast for Lily, and then they would spend the rest of the day talking about all that she had done at her school. As if Lily needed any more of an ego boost. Petunia didn't even bother to brush her teeth before going downstairs. She could smell the sausage and eggs, and frankly, she didn't give a damn. She was an angsty 13-year-old girl whose life was ruined. What did she care about not having morning breath?

As she entered the kitchen, her mother turned from the stove, and as per usual,

"Good morning, love. Lily was just…" she trailed off mid-sentence and stared at Petunia. What was it now? Petunia plastered a smile on her face, and, prompting her mother, she said,

"Lily was just what mum?" Her mother shook her head and instead of answering Petunia's question, replied,

"What on earth have you done to your hair?" Petunia wanted to scoff at her mother's rudeness. Just because she wasn't an angel, it didn't mean that she was that ugly. She might feel that way, but her mother shouldn't.

"I haven't done anything, mum." She made sure to keep her tone polite.

"Don't be funny, Tuney," _god_ , she hated that nickname, "your hair is red, and it doesn't just _turn_ that way overnight!"

Her hair, red? Now Petunia knew that something was up, and she concluded that it was probably Lily's fault.


	2. Two: Powers

**Oh gosh, was _this_ hard to write. I'm _very_ hyperactive, and I have the attention span of a fish, so please forgive any mistakes. Oftentimes I'm bored of sitting in one place and want to do something else, but i force myself to write. (i kind of rushed this chapter. oops. I literally typed the last word like 5 minutes ago, and i'm bored so i'm not gonna check for any grammatical errors. i'll probably come back later though)**

 **Thank you to _Fi_ _ndingIdentity_ for my very first review, you made me very happy**

 **Thank you to _DebraWhitlock87, SkyeMoor, hollydoelxx, FindingIdentity_ , for following this also made me happy**

 **Thank you to _Red Ethel Flint_ for favoriting this made me happy**

 **R.I.P. Stephen Hawking. You will be missed.**

* * *

Petunia stared at her mother who had _definitely_ gone mad. Her hair was obviously not red, and even if it had been, how would she have knowingly turned it that way? All she did was stay at home and mope. When she did go out, she _certainly_ didn't go to _hair-stores_ or wherever you bought hair dye from. She'd never known her mother to lie, though, and if her hair was red, it _must_ have been Lily's doing. At this conclusion, Petunia whirled around to face Lily and hissed,

" _What did you do?"_

"What did _I_ do?" Lily replied, "I haven't even so much as _talked_ to you since I've returned, much less had time to touch your hair!" Petunia was having none of it. Lily could play dumb if she wanted to, but how else could this have happened?

"Don't act like you don't know how this happened. You used your _powers_ so that you could make me look like a fool! You just wanted to rub it in, how much better you are then me! Admit it!"

By this point, Lily was standing up, close enough that Petunia could see the tears beginning to form in her eyes. Why was _she_ crying? _She_ was the one rubbing everything in Petunia's face, making a fool of her, showing how much better she was. If anyone should've been crying it was Petunia. Lily was nothing but an imperfection in her perfect world. Lily, of course, begged to differ,

"No I haven't! Maybe if you cared about something other than yourself, you'd know that I _can't_ use magic outside of school. And even if I could, why would I do anything to hurt you? You're my sister, and even if you've stopped loving me, it doesn't mean I've stopped loving you. You're just being… unreasonable."

"No I'm not! You're just doing what freaks do best! You're using your power to try to make me feel bad, and it won't work. I hate you, and I never want to talk to you again. I wish you would die!"

Petunia regretted what she said as soon as she said it. She didn't hate Lily, she loved her. But she was jealous, and jealousy had a bad effect on Petunia. She realized how childish she had sounded, how _cruel_. It made her sick. But she didn't know how to stop. Why couldn't anyone understand what she was feeling? Why didn't they help? She was lost in her own thoughts until Lily burst out crying. She desperately wanted to run over to her sister, comfort her, and tell her how she hadn't meant a word of what she'd said. But she didn't. She stormed upstairs to her room, ignoring her mother's calls. By the time she did get upstairs, she felt like crying. But that made her feel even worse. Why should _she_ cry when she had just yelled at her little sister? She just wanted to punch someone. To- to yell at someone until her throat was raw and her voice was hoarse. She wanted to go to sleep and wake up in a new home far away, where she had never known Lily or hurt her. But all she could do was lay on her bed until she fell asleep. She had just gotten up, but she didn't really feel like going back downstairs and facing anyone. She knew that when her father returned home from work she was going to have hell to pay, and she wasn't particularly looking forward to that. She just wanted to disappear.

* * *

Petunia sat up straight in her bed, doused in sweat, as if she had just had a vivid nightmare or had run a marathon. _That's weird_ , she thought. And it was. If she had a nightmare bad enough to induce sweating, you'd _think_ she would remember it. She stood up from her bed and looked out her small bedroom window. The sky was still a light, pale blue. Petunia would have appreciated how pretty it was if not for the sense of foreboding that she felt. She'd no doubt be in big trouble soon, and even if she only had to apologize, she still didn't want to see the look on her sister's face. Or her parents'.

Petunia _had_ intended to stay in her room the rest of the day, but she was hungry, and even more pressing than that was the fact that she had to go to the bathroom. _Badly_. She reluctantly swung her feet over the side of her bed and stood up. She regretted it almost immediately. Her legs were very sore, which was troubling in and of itself. Even more troubling was the fact that things in her room was out of place. Not just one or two things, that wouldn't have been much of problem. But _literally_ every piece of furniture, every book, every accessory, but been thrown about the room as if somebody in a rage had torn through. She certainly hadn't done it, and Lily wouldn't have. Even if she didn't want to admit it, Petunia secretly thought that Lily was the nicer of the two sisters. Lily was kind, understanding, and slow to judge. Petunia was not.

By the time she had managed to walk over to the door, hopping over piles of things she didn't even know she still had, Petunia was seriously beginning to wonder if she had a problem with sleepwalking. The soreness in her legs had magnified tenfold, and the damage to her room was worse then she'd first perceived. She'd have to clean this up quickly-and soon, at that- unless she wanted to get blamed for this too. A quick thought- an explanation?- crossed her mind, but she shoved it away. It was _impossible_. She opened the door and crept quietly into the hallway. She made sure to tiptoe as softly as she could, as excruciating as it was, until she finally reached the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and breathed a sigh of relief. That was before she saw her reflection. At her reflection, she had to stifle a scream. She'd expected her hair to be red, but not Lily-red. Regular red hair was toned down, like strawberry blonde. But Lily-red, that was… extraordinary. It was bright and full and it was more ginger than red to be honest. It was what made Lily so pretty. If it had been a regular day, Petunia would have been jumping for joy by now. But she felt sick. Judging from the way Lily had reacted earlier, she definitely hadn't messed with her hair. Her parents would never hurt her. That left only her. But she hadn't done anything. At least not on purpose…

Petunia shook the thought from her head and went to the bathroom. When she had finished and tidied up, she crept back out and into her room. As soon as she had closed the door behind her back, she breathed another sigh of relief and looked around. She had work to do. She set about the room picking up all of the small things- papers, pencils and the like. When she had gathered everything that she had deemed small, Petunia deposited them on her bed. That left the clothes from her closet, the desk, and her nightstand which had been overturned. She wondered how her parents hadn't heard the objects fall over.

After minimal effort, Petunia managed to refold and re-hang most of the clothes and push the nightstand back into place. The desk however, was another story. It wasn't very big, but it did have a lot of stuff on it. And unlike the rest of the items that had been rearranged, the desk was completely intact. Petunia thought about what she could do. She decided that it was most rational to take everything off the desk, put it on the bed, then move the desk and put the items back on top. She got most of the stuff off until all that was left was a small pile of papers. _Her letters to Dumbledore._ Looking at them, she wanted to cry. She had written them so full of hope. By the time the tenth letter had reached her, she had been discouraged and depressed. For some reason she just couldn't bring herself to throw them away. She glanced at them longingly at them for about a minute before she heard a movement from downstairs and remembered what she was doing. She gathered herself together, and spent the next five minutes slowly inching the desk closer to where it had originally been so that she didn't make a noise and arouse suspicion. Eventually- _finally-_ she put away the rest of the small things until only one was left. A small, glass figurine shaped like a bird, that Lily had given her for her eleventh birthday. She'd had it for two years. It was her most prized possession. She couldn't bear to put it away, as it was a reminder of everything that _had_ been. Everything that _she_ had ruined in a matter of seconds. She laid down and held it in her right hand, imagining that it was her. It would come alive and fly away and be free…

Then, an amazing thing happened. The bird began twitching and it rose steadily up and out of Petunia's hand until it was floating a few metres above her bedroom floor. _It was flying!_ And _she_ was moving it with her mind. It was almost like magic. But she couldn't be, could she?

Petunia thought back to a little over a year and a half ago. When Lily had first begun showing signs that she was magically inclined. It hadn't been a particularly happy time, as their cat, a hairy white tom they'd christened Snowball, had died of old age. Lily had been inconsolable, not that Petunia hadn't tried. It had gotten so bad that one night Lily had cried for almost 3 hours straight. At first, Petunia hadn't noticed what was going on, as she had been so busy comforting her sister. Then, she saw that the clothes in Lily's room had been flying in the air by themselves! Initially, she didn't know what to do. She was curious… and scared. She didn't want to upset Lily anymore, so she didn't tell her what happened. Besides, it was probably just a just a fluke.

The week after the clothes had begun flying, Lily and Petunia were playing together in a field close to their neighborhood. Petunia had been making a two flower crowns when Lily had suddenly called her over, begging her to come over and look at what she could do. Again, Petunia was curious. Could it have something to do with the events that had transpired a week before? It did. She watched as Lily levitated flowers and mended broken twigs. They went to the park every day after that and Lily got better at controlling her new powers. Petunia wondered when hers would cmoe. They were sisters, so that meant that she had to have it too. Maybe Lily could teach her. One day, a boy had approached them as Lily was showing off her new powers. Again. The boy introduced himself as Severus, and said that he had been watching Lily for some time, and that he was like her. Petunia though this was creepy, but she didn't mind. She teased him at first, but then she decided that they could all be friends. Of course, Lily started hanging out with him more and more and more. He told her all about the other people like him and Lily, and the magical school they would both eventually go to. When Petunia confronted him, he said that they were different than her, and that she should probably go find some new friends. After that, things just kind of fell apart.

This was what Petunia thought about as she watched her beloved bird soar around her room. She focused on it intently, and felt a surge of happiness swell inside her. She was a witch! Or, she at least hoped so. She was exhibiting the same powers Lily had, and sure, Lily had gotten hers at ten, while Petunia had gotten hers at twelve, but that didn't really matter. She wanted to tell her mum, her dad, Lily, anyone, about her powers. But she couldn't. At least she had them. She focused on the bird some more, willing it to do flips mid-air, or perch on her dresser. However, it just kept flying around. Petunia was too happy to really care. She just knew that her powers (she had powers!) would get better with practice. Like Lily's had. Of course, fate is a cruel mistress.

Just as the bird was beginning to turn over midair, Petunia's mum decided it was a good idea to barge into her room. Petunia jumped as the door banged open, and her mother practically yelled, "Petunia Evans! I am very cross with you! You've been in your room all day, sulking of all things, and you don't even have the decency to apologize to your younger sister. She'd never do anything like this to _you_ you know." This was all it took for her concentration to be shattered. The bird fell to the floor with a devastating crash. Petunia's mother's head snapped towards the sound, and she opened her mouth once more, "What have you done? Can you not control your temper? Lily gave that to you because she _loved_ you! I am _very_ ashamed." After that Petunia sat on her bed, not willing to meet her mother's eyes as she gave her the sternest talking-to she'd ever had in her life. Eventually her father came up, and they made her apologize to Lily before giving her food to take to her room that night. She went to bed crying at the loss of her bird, and a good relationship with her parents, but she was consoled by the fact that she might be a witch.

* * *

The rest of the summer passed by slowly and painfully. Petunia hardly ever talked to Lily, and Lily hardly ever talked to Petunia. As the sisters' relationship got worse, Lily's friendship with Severus got stronger and stronger. Petunia mostly stayed in her room, dreading the day that Lily would get her letter notifying her about her second year at Hogwarts. Her only solace was the time she spent polishing her powers. She had found that levitating things was easy enough, but moving them around in midair was hard. She wondered what else she could do, but she was too afraid to try. She longed to talk to Lily about it, but she could not. Maybe if she got invited to Hogwarts they'd _have_ to be friends again.

* * *

On July 18, 1972, Petunia woke up feeling a bit happier than she had at the beginning of the summer. The night before, she had managed to keep two objects in the air for more than 2 minutes. Her powers really _were_ improving. She got out of bed and lingered in her room for a moment, before heading downstairs for breakfast. Her parents weren't up yet, and because it was a Saturday, they didn't have to be. She was thankful for this as she bumped around in the refrigerator for some milk or bread. While she continued to search, she heard the slot on the letter box creak. _Strange,_ she thought. _The post doesn't usually come this early._ She went to the box and removed the items inside. Two letters. One to a certain Lily J. Evans. Petunia briefly considered hiding it to torment Lily, but she didn't want to be crueler than she already had been. She put Lily's letter under the second one, and she let out a shriek loud enough to split someone's eardrums. The letter was addressed to

 _Ms. P. Evans_

 _Bedroom on the_ second _right_

 _15 Turret Drive_

 _Cokeworth, England_

She was going to Hogwarts!


	3. Three: Letters

**Hello, all! This might be a bit late, but I tried! Sorry for the grammatical errors that are definitely in here somewhere and please read and review.**

 **Thanks to** **SkyeMoor and hollydoelxx for reviewing. You brightened my day!**

 **And thanks to absurdjewel, vani12, t42n24t2 for following. This made me very happy. :)**

 ***on a non-important note, I attended #MarchforOurLives on Saturday and it was amazing.***

 **I made a mistake with the dates in the last chapter but I think I fixed it.**

She was going to Hogwarts! Or so she hoped. Petunia stared at the letter in her hands, and everything else seemed to stop. The other letters in her hand fell to the ground, and she felt as if she was on a cloud of pure happiness. Her suspicions had been correct! She was a witch like Lily. She was special like Lily, and her parents would be proud of her again, and- her thoughts stopped. Her parents would be mad at her for screaming, but she didn't care. They'd _have_ to understand when they saw what had come in the post.

"Petunia? Darling, are you okay?" It was her mum, running down the stairs. Her scream had sent the wrong message. A moment ago, Petunia had been ready to face the world. Now she just felt foolish. She had probably woken everyone up, and on top of that, she had gotten this letter. When she had lashed out at Lily for being what this letter might say Petunia was. She turned around, facing her mother's stern stare, "Well, what is it?" After she had yelled at Lily and accidentally destroyed the glass figurine, Petunia's relationship with her parents had worsened. They'd never really been _that_ close, but at least they got her and she got them. Now, they still spoke to, and joked with her, but it was like they didn't trust her. She was constantly walking on thin ice, and it didn't help that Lily was ignoring all of her apology attempts. Lily _was_ kind and accepting, but she was also tough, and slow to forgive. She didn't let people push her around. It would probably take her an entire year to get over what Petunia had said. That didn't make her feel good about what she had done, and wallowing in her sorrow for two months hadn't done her anything. Maybe if Lily saw her letter, she'd give Petunia a chance to explain and apologize. Then they'd- Her mum cleared her throat. Petunia cleared her head and handed her mother the letter timidly. She wasn't sure how she'd react. Her mum looked at the letter and studied it,

"Go to the sitting room. I'll be back with your father in a minute. Then you can explain this." Petunia's mother disappeared up the stairs, taking the letter with her. Petunia made her way to the sitting room and settled down on the large floral print couch. As she sat, her heart rate sped up. How would everyone react? They'd loved it when Lily's powers were revealed, but Petunia hadn't been exactly… supportive. What if the letter wasn't even about letting her go to Hogwarts? What if she was too old to start going? What if her powers were only incidental and didn't work when she went to Hogwarts? _If_ she went. What if Lily was even more mad at her? What if her parents didn't let her go? What-

Her mother and father stepped into the room, her mum looking concerned, her dad looking sleepy and annoyed. They settled on the loveseat parallel to the sofa. Her mum had grim look on her face as she handed Petunia the letter back,

"Would you like to open it?" Did they think she had planned it? She couldn't tell by studying their faces, but she accepted the letter as they pressed it into her hand, along with a silver letter opener. She turned it over in her hand and admired the fancy red seal before cutting the envelope open. When she had successfully opened the envelope, she carefully extracted the letter. What would it say? She held her breath and unfolded the parchment. As she looked at the elegant writing, she wondered if it had taken whoever had written it a long letter read:

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**

 **Dear Ms Evans,**

 **We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.**

 **Yours sincerely,**

 **Minerva McGonagall**

 **Deputy Headmistress**

She didn't look at the two other letters, but back up at her parents, who were staring at her expectantly. They must have wanted her to tell them what it said,

"They want me to attend Hogwarts. Be-because I'm a witch." Her mother's eyebrows shot up,

"A witch? But that's-that's impossible! Petunia what are you playing at?" They thought she was tricking them!

"I'm not playing at anything! It's true, I am a witch." Her mother scoffed, clearly getting mad,

"And you expect me to believe that? After you've yelled at and made fun of your sister for being a witch? I'm not stupid, I know that you're jealous Petunia, but you don't need to blow things out of proportion. What's going on? You can tell me. " _She_ was blowing things out of proportion? She was sitting her trying to tell her parents about the best thing that had ever happened to her. And her mom wasn't buying it.

"Nothing! I _am_ a witch. And I'm _not_ jealous." That was a lie, but she didn't want her mother to know.

"Give me the letter." Her mum held out her hand, and Petunia obliged. She took it and looked over it quickly, then back at Petunia.

"Explain. _Now._ "

Petunia looked at her parents' faces. Her mum looked angry, while her dad, who hadn't said a word, looked concerned. She was going to prove to them that she was a witch. They were going to trust her completely again. She turned to look at one of the pillows resting beside her mother on the loveseat. She focused all of her concentration on the pillow and stuck her hand out, while imagining the pillow flying into the air. It twitched and then hovered above the loveseat a few seconds before falling. Her mother's eyes widened again and she looked Petunia, shock written all over her face,

"If you've been a witch all this time, why are you using your powers now? Why are just now going to Hogwarts? Why didn't you go when you were eleven.?" Petunia shrugged, she didn't know why. She was still struggling to comprehend it herself. "I'm afraid that answer isn't sufficient. Why did you yell at your poor sister?" And there it was. The one question that she could never explain to her parents no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't tell them that she had just happened to get her powers now, a full two years after she was supposed to. She herself wouldn't believe that. Since she couldn't tell her parents the truth, Petunia knew she only had one option. Magic had torn her family apart, and magic would bring it back together again. She desperately wanted to fix her relationship with her parents, and a perfect way to do that was to make them believe that she wasn't entirely in the wrong. Her mom was sympathetic, so if she played at her heartstrings, she might pity Petunia. And her dad tended to trust her mum's judgement wholeheartedly,

"I- I was jealous of how strong Lily's powers were, when mine were so weak. She could make flowers open, and levitate things. And the most I could ever do was make a twig hover 2 inches above the ground. Then when she got to go to Hogwarts first instead of me, it hurt my feelings. I was the oldest, and that meant that I should have gone first. Instead of trying to advance my powers, I sulked. And when I wrote Dumbledore asking if I could attend the school like my sister, I received a letter stating that my powers weren't strong enough. Instead of working hard, I became extremely cross with Lily. I envied her, and bullied her. And I… regret it."

Petunia made sure to sound as remorseful as she could to compensate for the fact that her lie was half-baked and didn't make much sense. It seemed to be enough for her mother, however, as her features softened, and she cried,

"Oh Petunia, darling, why didn't you say something sooner? We could've helped. Right?" She looked at Petunia's father who nodded back. (Although he looked encertain.)

"I don't know," she paused, choosing her words carefully, " I guess I was just embarrassed." The lies were coming quicker and easier than they ever had before. Her mum sighed and put the letter on the small table beside the loveseat,

"We'll talk about this again later on. Were there any other letters in the post?" Petunia nodded and left the room to retrieve the letters, refusing to meet her parents' eyes. As soon as she was well away from them, she let her face light up with a huge smile. She bent down to pick up Lily's letter and the other ones, then put a sad look on her face and went back to hand said letter to her parents. Her mum, in an attempt to lighten the mood, Petunia guessed,

"I suppose we can purchase you and your sister's supplies in a few hours. Why don't you go and wake your sister." Petunia thought this was a bad idea, but she had narrowly avoided getting in trouble once, and she didn't fancy the idea of being punished before going to get her witch things. Before she left, she picked up the two other pieces of parchment that had come in the envelope. She didn't know what was in them, but she knew that she _definitely_ wanted to read them before her parents got to them.

Petunia paused outside of Lily's room, wondering how she should go about waking her up. She eventually decided on just going in there and tapping her awake. That shouldn't send the wrong message. She hoped. Petunia pushed the door open and approached the bed slowly. When she had reached it, the blond lightly tapped her younger sister on the shoulder. When Lily didn't stir, Petunia repeated it while also whispering,

"Lily! Lily, wake up!" Eventually, she did, and she was _not_ happy to see Petunia.

 **Thanks for reading! :)**

 **Constructive criticism is** ** _GREATLY_** **appreciated.**


	4. Four: Supplies

**Sorry for this boring filler, and thank you to** ** _Kalabaw Crap_** **for reviewing.**

 **Thanks to** ** _Kalabaw Crap, Absolian, ShuTheDragon,_** **and** ** _drainey940_** **for following.**

"What are you doing here?" Lily was sitting upright in her bed, frowning. Petunia was afraid to say anything, but since she had Lily all by herself, she thought she might give apologizing a try.

"I came to wake you up." She went quiet, waiting for a reaction from the younger girl. Lily delivered,

"Why? So you can torment me in private? I don't know what your problem is, but you can stop taking it out on me!"

"Can I apologize?" It was worth a shot.

"You called me a _freak_ Petunia! You made me feel awful for just being who I was. You're supposed to protect me, stop people from bullying me! Not bully me yourself. And then when I finally make a friend who's like me, who can help me understand and feel better about myself, _you_ can't accept that. And it's not like I didn't try to help you. To connect with you. I wrote you letters and sent you presents and parcels, but you just pushed me away! When I came home, I hoped it was just a mistake. That maybe your coldness over the Christmas holidays was just a fluke. Then you told me you wished I would die. My own sister!" Lily was crying now, and Petunia wasn't far off herself, "I looked up to you Petunia. I _loved_ you. You've hurt me _so_ much and I don't even know why. I don't think an _apology_ is going to fix anything."

Petunia winced at her sister's words. They were right, no matter how hard Petunia wished they weren't, and that was exactly what made them so hurtful. In her pain and jealousy, she had done exactly to Lily what she thought her parents had been doing to her. Had they even been neglecting her? Or was it all just in her head? Petunia didn't know, but she did know that she had to do whatever it took to gain back her sister's trust and love. So she tried again,

"I know, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, Lily. I _do_ love you, you're my sister. I was just jealous and I let my pain take over me. I'm-"

Petunia was cut off as Lily shoved her out of the way and stormed into the hallway. She followed her sister silently as she walked across the hall and into their parents' room. When she went storming in, and went storming out, Petunia guessed that she'd discovered that their parents were awake. After that, Lily went downstairs, and Petunia followed her right to the sitting room where her mum and dad were still sitting silently. Lily's anger had evidently finally gotten the better of her, as she shouted,

"What is _she_ doing in my room, waking me up at this hour?" Her parents remained calm and collected despite Lily's temper. If it had been Petunia yelling… well… she preferred not to think about that. Petunia watched as her mother met her sister's eyes and smiled warmly,

"I asked her to wake you."

"Why?!"

"I figured I'd make us some breakfast then we'd all head down to purchase your supplies for the year." Could her mum have been _any vaguer?_ Petunia knew that her mum was using the term 'your' collectively, but Lily obviously did not. Hence why she asked,

"Does _she_ have to come?" with a pointed look at Petunia. Their mother, not catching onto the fact that Lily didn't know, (she must have assumed that Petunia would tell Lily that she was a witch when she woke her up) merely chuckled and said,

"Well of course she does, don't be silly." At this, Lily walked out. Her footsteps could be heard fading as she walked up the stairs. Petunia's mother, cheery as anything, simply pursed her lips and stood up,

"Well, I suppose I should get started now, shouldn't I?" She walked out of the room and Petunia could hear her rummaging around in the cupboards. With nothing else to do, Petunia decided that this was as good a time as any to look at the letters that she had hidden from her parents. She slipped away and up the stairs to her room. Once she made sure nobody was coming into or, at the very least, walking past her room, she pulled out the letters and began to read. The first piece of parchment was nothing more than a supply list:

 _ **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Requirements:**_

 **UNIFORM**

First-year students will require:

sets of plain work robes (black)

plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

pair of protective gloves (dragonhide or similar)

winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

 **COURSE BOOKS**

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

 **OTHER EQUIPMENT**

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

 **PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS**

The second letter was written on a shorter piece of paper and it seemed a bit more personalized than the other two:

 **Dear Ms Evans,**

 **We hope you are dealing with the discovery of your powers well. The staff at** _ **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**_ **notes that because of your age and blood-status, your case is very sensitive, and if you are so inclined, you may choose to take part in tutoring sessions with the Deputy Headmistress. These lessons would take place during the remainder of the summer and for the duration of the school year, weekends included. This is if you wish to begin the term in the same year as your age group. If you choose not to, you may enter as a first year. We await your owl no later than July 31. It may be sent with your acceptance letter.**

 **Sincerely,**

 **The Staff at Hogwarts School**

 **of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

Petunia looked up, her mind whirling around. She hadn't considered the fact that she would be the eldest of her peers. They'd be 11, and she'd be 13 going on 14. By the time she graduated, she'd be an adult and they'd all be teens. But… her magic wasn't strong by any means. Even with all the tutoring and magic help, she still might not have enough power. Even if she practiced all summer… she'd still have missed years. It would probably be safer just to enter as a first year. Old as she may be. Besides, she'd always been a bit short for her age.

Petunia spent about 10 minutes carefully considering the pros and cons of each option until she ultimately decided that entering as a first-year _would_ help make her magic stronger. She hoped. When she had finally decided, Petunia got a piece of paper from her desk drawer and composed a reply. While she was at it, she also wrote a reply to her acceptance letter. She'd kill two birds with one stone.

Petunia was just putting the finishing touches on her letters, and reminding herself to get an envelope from her father's study when a voice a rang out from behind her,

"Mum says it's time for breakfast." Petunia jumped, and in an attempt to cover, looked up and smiled as if nothing had happened,

"Thanks." Petunia stood up to join her in walking downstairs, but not before hiding her letters under some clutter. She didn't know why she did it, but she chalked it up to not wanting Lily to know yet. Petunia was tempted to attempt an apology to Lily again, but she knew it was a horrible idea. She'd have to give Lily some time. Or maybe she could prepare a huge gesture, like buying Lily something to make it up to her…

When they got to the kitchen table, she sat down at her place and waited while her mum fixed her food and while her dad sat down. The breakfast was nothing special, just some sausage and eggs. But it was made more special by the fact that after they'd finished, she'd be getting a wand!

The breakfast was silent and awkward. Usually, they'd talk, or, Lily and her parents would talk while she would listen. Instead of paying attention to anybody else, Petunia spent the entirety of the meal thinking about what she could do to make it up to Lily beside being kind and apologizing profusely. When she finished eating, Petunia asked if she could be excused. When her mother consented, Petunia decided to go ahead and get prepared for their trip to Diagon Alley. She'd been there before when Lily had gone to pick up her supplies for her first year. It had been astonishingly amazing, and Petunia had enough allowance that she was sure she'd be able to buy her sister something when they went. She couldn't wait to go again. To just see all the different shops and people. Petunia thought about the alley as she hurriedly picked out and put on a dress before rushing to the bathroom to brush her hair. As per usual, she jumped a bit when she saw her hair. She'd had it for months, but for some reason, she always expected the blond she used to have. She began slowly brushing hair out of her face and pulled it into a low ponytail. On her way out of the bathroom, she bumped into Lily who glared at her before shoving past her and slamming the bathroom door. Petunia simply walked to her room, picked up her list, and rummaged around for her money and her coin-purse. Once she had determined that she had everything that she needed, Petunia headed downstairs to wait. Soon, she'd be a part of the Wizarding world.


End file.
